


Elevator Music

by Frostpebble



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Akechi is the king of oversharing, Fluff, Humor, M/M, they kiss a little
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-03
Updated: 2018-04-03
Packaged: 2019-04-17 22:53:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,708
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14199402
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Frostpebble/pseuds/Frostpebble
Summary: Shortly after meeting for the first time at the TV station, Akira and Akechi find themselves trapped in an elevator together.A few scattered scenes of how they spent their time.





	Elevator Music

**Author's Note:**

> For whatever reason twitter was enamored with the idea of Akechi stuck in an elevator; so much so that I actually ended up writing it. Big thanks to everyone who contributed their ideas and convinced me to write this silly thing! Hope you have some fun with it.
> 
> Find me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/Frostpebble) for more quality Goro content!

\--- 11:23 AM ---

„Ah…excuse me? Kurusu-kun, isn’t it? What are you doing here?”

The curly-haired boy turned around and was face-to-face with the famous Goro Akechi for the second time that morning at the TV station. “I was hoping to find a bathroom before my class left, but now I…seem to have gotten a bit lost.” He ran his fingers through his hair and grinned sheepishly.

Akechi smiled a bit to himself; the boy’s demeanor was totally different than the confidant defiance he had shown in the broadcast earlier. Had he also been putting on a show for the cameras? He found it endearing.

“Managed to find your way to the private dressing rooms but can’t find the direction you came from? Why, if I didn’t know better I would think you’re up to no good,” the detective teased. Akira responded with a smile and a noncommittal shrug. “Well, regardless, I think it best that you make your way out of here before someone else spots you. I’m on my way out as well, why don’t you accompany me?” Normally Akechi treasured his alone time, but he didn’t mind the idea of spending a few more moments with the high school boy who had caught his interest.

Akira nodded and fell into step beside Akechi. “Sorry for the trouble, detective.”

“I assure you, no trouble at all,” he replied. They rounded the corner and came to an old elevator; Akira assumed from the looks of it that it was out of order, but Akechi pressed a button and the doors slid open with a whirr.

“It’s not the newest piece of technology, but it leads to an exit on the backside of the building. Useful for avoiding fans and paparazzi,” Akechi offered at the other boy’s quizzical expression. They stepped inside and Akechi chose the ground floor. The doors closed and Akechi decided to take the opportunity for a little smalltalk.

“I’m still impressed by your unwavering belief in the Phantom Thieves,” he began. “Though I’m sure witnessing an incident at your very school is compelling proof!” He raised a finger to his chin and gave his best charming detective prince wink. “I don’t suppose you have any insider information to share for my investigation?”

Akira hesitated for a moment before opening his mouth, but was quickly interrupted by a loud THUNK followed by the sound of scraping metal. The elevator jolted and the two stumbled for a moment before it came to a halt.

They exchanged a glance and then turned their attention to the doors, waiting for them to open. They didn’t. Akechi laughed nervously and stepped towards the control panel.

“Well, this thing IS a bit dated, perhaps it just needs some prompting.” He pressed the “door open” button once. No reaction. He pressed it a second time, a little more forcefully. Nope. Frustrated, he jammed it repeatedly. Something went _click_ and all of the lights on the control panel went out. Quickly he pulled his hands away, hoping he hadn’t just made things worse.

Akira peered around the detective’s shoulder and examined the buttons himself. “I…guess it’s the appropriate time for this?” he asked, finger hovering over the red “emergency” button. He looked to Akechi for some sort of confirmation and he gave a short nod. Akira gave the button a firm press, waited a few seconds, and turned back to Akechi frowning.

“What is it?” he asked, keeping his voice calm despite his nervousness.

The student shrugged and glanced back at the unresponsive panel. “I dunno, I expected an emergency to be more…exciting. A light, a sound, something.”

The emergency button DID have a pulsing red light around it…until Akechi had touched the controls and everything went dark. Oops. He hoped Kurusu hadn’t noticed that.

“No no, it just alerts the fire department,” Akechi lied. He had no goddamn idea what an elevator emergency button actually did. Nor if this one was even functional. But it wouldn’t do to lose his cool over something like this.

“Huh,” was all the black-haired boy offered in response, seemingly disappointed by the lack of fanfare. Getting excited over something like that was…kind of cute, Akechi thought briefly.

There was a moment of silence between them, only the sound of forgettable elevator music drifting through the air.

“Well then…looks like there’s nothing to do but wait for help to arrive,” Akechi said with a sigh, leaning against the wall. When he had said that he wanted to get the chance to talk to Kurusu again, this was NOT what he had in mind.

 

\--- 12:06 PM ---

The awkward silence was broken by the more-awkward sound of someone's stomach growling. Akechi looked down and grasped his, embarrassed.

Akira laughed, but not in a mocking way. "Hey, it IS just about lunchtime," he said reassuringly. "I hope help comes soon, or else my friends are going to be eating pancakes without me." That wasn't true; the entire class was probably stopping at a Big Bang Burger or something on the way back. But the detective had seemed so excited about pancakes the day before, and Akira wanted to see if he really-

"Pancakes, you say?" His eyes sparkled at the mention of them and Akira laughed, which quickly turned Akechi's expression into a frown.

"What's so funny?" he pouted.

"Sorry, I just think it's kind of cute for Mr. Celebrity Detective to get so excited over something like that," Akira teased.

Cute? Akechi's cheeks felt warm but he tried to ignore it. "I've just always been fond of them, ever since my mother made them for me as a kid," he quickly sputtered out in defense. "And there's more to them than you'd think- different types of dough, all the toppings-"

"No need to get so worked up!" Akira interrupted with a laugh. "I love them too, actually. You know where the best ones are?" Akechi's expression was earnestly eager. "The maid cafe in Shibuya," he continued with a mischievous grin.

Akechi gave an awkward laugh. "A maid cafe! I'll have to take your word for it; that differs quite a bit from my usual dining locations. It just wouldn't do for the press to catch me somewhere like that," he said with a shake of his head.

"Is that the price of fame? Not being able to enjoy life's simple pleasures such as these?" Akira said with an overdramatic tone. "Tragic."

"It's not all bad!" Akechi remarked. "Tokyo is heaven for a connoisseur of cuisine, IF you can get in to the best places and have the budget to back it up. There's an absolutely incredible buffet..."

Akira was surprised at how easy it was to get the detective talking, and how very much he had to say on the topic of culinary arts. He nodded along as the minutes flew by.

 

\--- 12:45 PM ---

There was a lull in conversation, and Akira stretched and sighed. "Don't you think this is taking a while? Shouldn't someone be here by now?"

Akechi took out his phone to check the time and to confirm for the 17th time that no, he still did not have any signal. He huffed and shoved it back into his pocket. "They really should," he grumbled.

"You seem...stressed," Akira said.

"What, and you're not?!" Akechi snapped back and Kurusu looked taken off guard. Oh, that was a bit harsh, tone it back down. "Sorry, I just already have a headache thinking about all the rescheduling I'll have to do if I'm stuck here much longer." He rubbed his temple with two fingers.

"Even if the button didn't work, someone will notice we're missing eventually," Akira reassured him.

Yeah, that was exactly what Akechi was afraid of. He needed to report back to someone, frequently, and if he didn't there could be...trouble. But that wasn't anything his new friend needed to know. "Busy celebrity schedule" made good enough cover.

"I guess you're right," he conceded, and sat down against the cold metal wall, tapping his fingers impatiently on the floor.

 

\--- 1:32 PM ---

Akechi had grown quieter and Akira's thoughts were drifting elsewhere, until a sudden sound and movement snapped him back to reality. Out of nowhere the detective had clapped his hand together, stood up and declared "That's enough. I'm taking matters into my own hands."

Akira's interest was piqued. "Do you have an idea? What can we even do?" he asked.

"You see this in movies often enough, don't you? There's an emergency and the heroes have to escape through the elevator shaft." The childlike sparkle was back in his eyes as he revealed his plan. He pointed up. "See? There's even a hatch on the ceiling. You just have to boost me up to it."

It seemed like a nice stunt for the Metaverse, but Akira wasn't sure how well it would go here. Were those movies even accurate? Did the detective have the upper body strength for climbing something like that? But it's not like they had anything to lose, so...

"Sure, go for it" he agreed with a nod, and Akechi seemed eager to finally be doing something. He removed his gloves along with his tan jacket and folded it neatly on the ground before rolling up his sleeves. Huh, he was actually pretty muscular, Akira couldn't help but notice.

He boosted Akechi up high enough for him to reach the latch, and was surprised by how easily he pulled himself up through the opening. "See anything?" Akira called up to him.

"There's a light a few meters up, maybe it's an exit! And I think..." Akira heard the clang of footsteps above him as Akechi fumbled his way towards the wall in the dark. "Yes! There's some handholds, I can climb up!" He began the ascent.

"Don't forget to come back and rescue me, oh charming Detective Prince!" Akira yelled after him, to which Akechi just laughed playfully. It was a nice sound, different than his laugh for the cameras. A few moments later Akechi's voice came again, a bit more distant this time.

"...Seriously?" A pounding sound echoed through the shaft. "Locked? What kind of shitty emergency exit only opens from the OUTSIDE?! Could have saved yourselves the trouble with that one!" The huff he gave was audible even at that distance.

Akechi clambered back down and slid through the hatch into the elevator, looking physically and mentally exasperated. He slid his back down the wall until he was sitting on the floor, and stared hopelessly at the ceiling. "We're doomed," he declared.

Akira sat down beside him and patted his shoulder gently. "Thanks for trying, at least. Looks like you have to put up with me a bit longer!" he joked.

"Believe me, that's the least difficult part of this," the brown-haired boy replied. Seeing the smile Akechi gave him made Akira secretly a bit happy that the escape plan had been a bust.

 

\--- 2:14 PM ---

"Sooo....you got a girlfriend?"

Akira's new topic of conversation caught Akechi off guard. "Huh? No."

The student looked at him curiously. "Really? Boyfriend, then?"

"Wha- no!" Akechi insisted once again. Why did the topic make him feel so flustered? Better move the ball to Akira's court; it was only fair. "What about you?"

Akira shrugged. "A few admirers, but nothing solid." Akechi hoped the topic would die out there, but after a moment of silence Akira continued. "I'm just surprised a catch like the Detective Prince is single. Don't you have hoards of fangirls?" he asked.

Akechi rolled his eyes. "They're exactly the problem. Most of my fans are teenage girls; do you know how heartbroken they would be to see their idol with someone else? My ratings would plummet, it's just not feasible."

"Huh, makes sense when you put it that way," Akira said before turning to give the other a curious look. "There's no one to see in here, though."

Akechi's cheeks flushed bright red. "What...are you implying?"

Akira flashed a devilish smile. "You're the detective, aren't you? Figure it out."

At this distance Akechi could finally see past those oversized glasses and into the other boy's eyes. They were issuing a challenge, daring him to make a move. Akechi made a split-second deduction and took a risk on his hunch.

And he hit the mark. Kurusu's lips were soft and sweet and tasted faintly of coffee. Maybe this wasn't such a bad way to to spending his time after all.

 

\--- 3:07 PM ---

"...and ever since she died, I knew there was no one I could count on in this world but myself."

Maybe he was just strange, but Akira had always had the feeling that certain interactions would level up his relationships, and he swore he heard at least three of those "rank up!" pings within the last conversation alone. The detective had really opened up after their little intimate moment.

He took his time to find the right words. "...I can understand how you feel, Akechi," he said finally. "Adults have done nothing but screw me over too. I ended up expelled though...while you're a celebrity. That's pretty impressive, you know."

Akechi turned from where he was sitting on the floor and looked at Akira with large, unsure eyes. "You really think so?" he asked. From the insecurity in his voice Akira realized he must not have had this conversation with many people before.

"Definitely," he answered. "Making it this far on your own takes a lot of strength."

"...thank you," Akechi said simply, and there was a peaceful silence between them.

 

\--- 3:55 PM ---

Eventually the conversation drifted back to more casual topics; how did Akira end up moving here, what were his hobbies, what interesting stories from the life of a detective did Akechi have to share. What remained unspoken was just how anxious they were becoming from this waiting, and how unsure they were that they were waiting on anything at all at this point. Akira tapped his foot nervously; Akechi checked his phone with increasing frequency and urgency.

Suddenly the elevator went dark. Pitch black. Akechi stopped mid-sentence and let out a yelp of surprise.

"Okay, _now_ I think we're doomed," Akira joked, but the other wasn't having it.

"I can't take this anymore!" he yelled, pounding his fists on the ground. "What the hell are we even waiting for, to rot in here?! No one is coming!" Akira couldn't see his face, but he sounded like he was near tears.

Just then, they heard a soft whirring sound of machinery returning to life. The ceiling lamp flashed back on, along with the tiny lights of the control panel. And slowly the elevator began to move again, settling down on the ground floor and giving a happy _ding_ as if there had never been a problem.

Akira looked to Akechi who was still sitting on the floor, looking dumbfounded, eyes red around the corners. As the elevator doors opened he scrambled to retrieve his jacket and adjust his tie and regain some sort of composure.

Greeting them in their return to the outside world were two shocked electricians. "Oi, nobody told us there was someone in there!" one exclaimed. "We just got a call that the buttons on the second floor weren't responding. Had to cut the power and reset the whole thing. I hope you kids weren't stuck in there too long?"

"No worries, we're fin-"

"Four hours and thirty two minutes," Akechi interrupted. "Please, check the functionality of the emergency button while you're here."

"...will do, sir," one of them answered awkwardly as Akechi stomped away.

Akira followed after him, and once they were far enough away Akechi turned to Akira and sternly placed a hand on his shoulder.

"...never speak of this to anyone," his whispered, his eyes still wet and puffy.

Akira nodded solemnly, but when he looked back up there was a grin spread across his face. "On one condition- you treat me to pancakes at the maid cafe." His eyebrows were raised expectantly.

The corner of Akechi's mouth twitched, but the smile he was trying to hide was genuine.

"Fair enough. It's a date."

 

 


End file.
